#planet altea

[sukoshininja]

Voltron: Legendary Defender Episode 1 - The Rise of Voltron

68/?

[swagging-back-to]

seetttthing scalding hot take but honestly i feel no sympathy or theoretical sadness about altea being blown to bits. the few alteans we DO know are all assholes. clearly the universe isn't missing much. in fact, if you look at the only canon universe that DOES still have altea--- they go on to be just as bad as the galran empire if not even worse.

so yeah. maybe zarkon did the universe a small favor before he went truly off the deep end.

edit; just found out alteans destroyed Diabaazal long before zarkon destroyed altea. nothing ANYONE says can convince me alteans are anything *but* the real villain of the show. they got what they deserved.

[aro-paladin-pidge]

Literally why did the planets in Voltron look so good?

Like wtf they did not have to go this hard

[ethereance]

Some allurance soulmate aus for all your (my) allurance needs:

-Soulmate au where you have a counter on your arm that counts down to the moment your soulmate dies. As soon as Allura’s hits 0 during omega shield, she knows.

-Au where you dream of your soulmate before you meet. Childhood friend-ify them. As kids, Allura keeps having dreams of this strange boy with round hideous ears, and Lance has dreams of an elf princess cosplayer. Who he eventually realises is an alien. From space. They form a fast friendship in this dreamscape, chatting out about anything and everything. In the waking world, Allura will look up this planet ‘Earth’ but no records of an ‘Earth’ exist. Strange. Was it just a normal dream after all? Except they meet again and again.

“Where is this ‘Earth’?”

“It’s in the Milky Way.”

“The Milky Way?” Allura’s never heard of such a place.

Lance starts explaining the plots of his favourite sci-fis to her, and asks if she knows any aliens like that. She tells him she doesn’t know what a Jedi is, has never heard of aliens who can travel through time, though this E.T he speaks of reminds her vaguely of a species she has met. Allura teaches Lance some Altean songs she knows that he’ll later try and recreate on his guitar. Allura talks often about her family, her father especially, and the royal advisor, Coran, who unintentionally taught her the word ��quiznack’ after stubbing his toe (Lance will start using this word in the waking world and no one knows where it came from). And Lance follows up with stories about his family, his sister mainly, and how they’re not to be trusted if they’re being far too suspiciously nice. Allura laughs, and wonders what it would be like to have that many siblings.

Eventually, Allura’s stuffy events she has to attend involve suitors, and Lance is moving into the garrison, just like his hero Shiro. Allura likes the way his eyes light up as Lance talks about flying.

“Maybe one day I’ll be able to fly to space. And see you,” he says.

“Perhaps,” says Allura.

Maybe Earth is hidden from star maps, yet to be discovered by the Alteans, as wide spread as their data is. Allura has spent her free time searching these maps for so long, but maybe it’ll be easier for him to come to her.

Lance starts talking about his new friend Hunk, and how he wishes Hunk could meet her, and about this annoying guy with a mullet.

“Why don’t you like Keith?”

“Why would I like Keith?”

Allura’s there for him as Lance learns he’s been listed as a cargo pilot.

“I’m sorry, Lance. I know it wasn’t what you were hoping for.”

Lance’s disheartened face steels itself. “… It isn’t over yet. I won’t stop until I reach fighter pilot class. I’ll just have to do better. I’ll be the best cargo pilot they’ve ever seen! So good they’ll have no choice but to move me up!”

Allura starts expressing her unease over Zarkon.

“He’s… strange these days. Father and him have been arguing. I’m worried something terrible is coming.”

“Like what?”

“I’m not sure.”

Then Allura goes radio silent, and Lance is uneasy, and suddenly Pidge is talking about this being named Voltron. And.

“Voltron’s a robot,” Lance says.

Pidge gives him this strange look, trying to get a read on him. “How do you know?”

“My soulmate’s father built it.”

Hunk’s eyes widen. “Dream girl?”

Lance nods. “Dream girl.”

It continues mostly the same, but. But.

“It’s you,” they’ll say as they meet, Allura tumbling into his arms.

A long awaited meeting.

(Longer than they realised.)

“You’re Lance?” Coran says after initially trying to battle him. “I see Allura wasn’t exaggerating about the ears.”

“Can everyone just leave my poor ears alone?!”

-A vaguely Your Name inspired au where soulmates show themselves in a whole manner of ways. Some present themselves through soulmarks like counters, or glowing tattoos, some have visions of their soulmate, some get soulmate telepathy, some keep finding their soulmate’s lost things tucked under their pillow. It’s different from person to person.

For Lance and Allura? They’ve been bodyswapping for as long as they can remember.

It’s confusing, at first, waking up not just in a body that isn’t your own, but an entirely different world. Thankfully, because of the power of brain hijacking, they at least understand the language people around them are speaking or else this world be x10 more scary for a pair of lost kids.

Lance’s family are a little thrown by this posh speaking version of him, but once they realise this is his soulmate, they’re pretty accommodating. This is Lance’s soulmate, after all.

“Are you from England?” Luis asks her.

“No. I’m from Altea.”

Allura gets confused as to why they’re searching maps of their own planet for it.

“It’s up there,” she says, pointing skyward. Beyond the blues, where the stars twinkle and shine, her home resides out there. Somewhere.

They joke that she’s an alien. But oh. Hang on. She actually is.

“Aw, lucky! I wish mine was from space,” laments Rachel.

The siblings get incredibly excited and start showing off the ‘coolest’ parts of Earth (Allura is from an advanced civilisation. A mobile phone doesn’t fascinate her). But what interests Allura the most is the rain. It’s refreshing. Much calmer than the rocks that storm Altea’s skies. It doesn’t ‘rain’ often in Altea, luckily, and they had to develop force fields to accommodate for it.

When Lance returns to his body, he’s convinced it was all a dream for all of five minutes until he gets hounded by questions on what the alien planet was like.

Altea had been stunning. A place straight out of fantasy. They even had space elves, how cool was that? Also he was a princess who owned far more dresses than the ones his sister would play dress up with him in. The wardrobe was far bigger than even his parents’ room.

A man called Alfor visited him after he was late for etiquette class, wondering if his ‘daughter’ was okay.

“And then I got a tour of the planet!” Lance explains. His family hangs onto every word.

It’s just the first swap of many. They’re random. One day they could wake up as themselves, or the other.

Lance wishes he could meet this person his whole family have met except him.

They start writing notes for each other. Usually just so they can keep track of things that need to be done. But they’re also their only mode of communication to the other. It’s almost as if they’re pen pals.

Lance grows up knowing the paladins of old, knowing Coran (who takes an instant liking to him), and Allura’s family. Allura grows up knowing his. And his school friends (which quite a different environment compared to her homeschooling). The more she learns of Earth, the more bizarre she finds it. Do these people really believe themselves to be the only form of life within the universe?

Meanwhile, when in Altea, Lance still can never give an accurate location of Earth.

“I don’t recognise those stars,” he’ll say to Alfor.

Lance tries clambering into Blue one time. It’s how he meets Blaytz.

“Oh, who’s this sitting in my chair I wonder?” teases the man.

“I’m Lance!” he says, beaming as Allura.

“Um.”

It gets a little more difficult to manage the tag team bodyswapping as they grow up. Studying for a test could be rendered pointless if they swap on the day. Allura proposes they study for both their tests, and the other’s. Which sounds like a horrible idea to Lance. That’s double the studying. He’d rather she just call in sick. Also, Allura’s exams involve giant holograms that can beat her up (though. This body is super strong. And wait. What do you mean Alteans can camouflage?)

Allura finds it a little difficult to keep up appearances around lance’s friends (though it’s marginally easier now that she has managed to mimic his accent). This is different to polite idle chatter when they host visitors from other planets, and his naturally outgoing personality is a little difficult to match. When she returns home, she’ll find that she has new Altean friends there that she has yet to meet.

Being on Earth lets Allura unwind, she finds. She isn’t a princess here. And yet, being a princess is all she has known. It’s strange.

Lance is fun, she thinks. She wonders if she’ll ever meet him.

Lance loves meeting new people, and they’re aliens! Aliens! Though, having to involve himself in Altean diplomacy like this has him very much out of his element. They’re using forks that don’t even look like forks, and some that levitate food. (And then sporks are just this universal thing? What’s with that?)

Allura smiles fondly as she reads this note. She agrees that there are some very strange forks they have to use.

They’re still swapping when Lance is in the garrison. Allura likes being able to get pilot training out of this, though the technology is quite the back step compared to Altean tech, and she does feel like she’s overstepping on Lance’s dream.

Lance gets close enough to Hunk to explain this who swapping thing to him.

“You know, this does explain some things. Sometimes it’s like you’re…”

“A whole other person?”

“Yeah. And you forget things sometimes. And the other day, when you spoke to Jenny—”

“—Wait?!?! Jenny???? I spoke to Jenny?”

You know how the story goes. How Shiro falls to Earth, and everything falls in motion.

But this time Lance recognises the word ‘Voltron’ and so too does he recognise the Blue lion.

She roars upon recognition.

“You’ve been here before?” Keith asks.

“No. I last saw her on Altea. What is she doing here?”

“Same as she always has. Waiting. Are you sure you saw the same lion?”

“There’s only one Blue.”

Lance also recognises the castle of lions.

But this isn’t Altea. That he knows.

Why is it here?

Allura tumbles into his arms.

“Father?” she asks, then her eyes widen in recognition. “Lance?!”

It’s clear everything has changed since they last time they swapped.

It’s not until after Coran awakens (and Coran!!! This is the first time Lance meets him as himself) that they realise they’ve been travelling 10,000 years apart.

(“If I had known. Then maybe this war…” starts Allura.

“You couldn’t have known,” Lance assures, though guilt eats at him too. What was all of this for if not to save lives? “We… couldn’t have known.”)

Whilst they wish the circumstances of meeting each other could have been better, it’s nice to finally be able to talk face to face.

Knowing Allura before was like piecing together a puzzle, small snippets of a person. Now he has the whole picture.

Lance falls. Bad.

He hears her laugh, not his laugh as her, but her laugh as her. And it just hits him. That this is the person that’s been interwoven in his life since he was a kid. She’s incredible.

(What did he do to get her as a soulmate?)

This time Allura has a much better understanding of Earth, and has a closer connection with the paladins earlier on from having connected with them as Lance. She doesn’t feel quite as isolated.

And Lance basically grew up on Altea. It wasn’t his world, not at first. But grew into a second home. Maybe he wasn’t ‘himself’ but he has so many fond memories there, and all of the people. It’s hard to imagine that was 10,000 years ago. He wasn’t even born then.

Allura does get someone else to reminisce about Altea with.

The swaps don’t stop, however. Not even after they meet.

Which is a bit of a problem when they need ‘Allura’ to operate the castle’s teleduv whilst simultaneously having a blue paladin.

Allura first pilots the blue lion when stuck in Lance’s body.

“I know I’m not him. But. Please. We have no other option.”

Maybe the swaps stop eventually through some means. Maybe they don’t.

Just. Bodyswap shenanigans. These two meeting before they meet

-That one roleswap soulmate au I started working on years ago wherein they’re called ‘quintessence mates’ and everyone’s born with pretty pattens adorning their skin. One day. One day I shall return to you.

[justaz]

wait. wwwwwait.

allura bringing lance back from the dead by sharing her quintessence with him and changing his dna to be altean and altering his quintessence to give him similar abilities and powers to allura’s. lance who is incredibly self sacrificial and has self worth issues switching places with allura when she was trying to sacrifice herself for the universe.

lance doing it bc he was supposed to die a while ago, allura shouldn’t have brought him back and this was the universe demanding balance. he was brought back without sacrifice and this was the universe correcting itself. lance doing it bc he had nothing left to offer. what was he going to do after the war? return to life as normal? pretend like nothing was wrong and that there was no responsibility on his shoulders? turn his back on those in need or go up into space and turn his back on his family?

this way lance could save everyone and his life would have meaning, this is why he was chosen, he was a lamb raised to be slaughtered. he wasn’t made for war or fighting. his soul always yearned for home and for peace. he’s always been the one taking hits for his friends and family. he’s always been the one to take the ire of his commander instead of his little mouthy friend, to take the brunt of an explosion instead of a man he knew all of two days, to take the force of thousands of volts of electricity coursing through his body rather than his teammate. he should be the one to give his life in exchange for quadrillions of lives he’s never met but who deserve a chance to live.

[kingofthewilderwest]

See, Voltron? Voltron is a franchise I'm fine with a new iteration happening, whatever the medium. I don't have faith that the new adaptation will be good in our current live action remake landscape, and I'm not screaming on main about a live action remake in theoretical works, but I don't care. I'm chill with it! Go wild, bitches. Keep the cycle of Voltron content going!

Voltron has been through a delightful amount of crappy, mediocre, and fantastic franchise expansions. We've had multiple reboots or sequels or reinterpretations or timelines or spinoffs in 2D Eastern animation, 2D Western animation, 3D animation (1990s 3D animation! oh dear oh my!), and various comic runs.

Once you get to that point in a franchise, every new material is a boon because it adds lore and legacy. It gives you more archives to uncover in all their quirks. It means affectionately looking at yet another way something went well or didn't. It means Voltron keeps living. It's meant to continue being told in different ways.

I can't care about the quality of new Voltron materials. If it's bad? I'll smile affectionately. If it's great? I'll screech in glory.

Heck, the very existence of Voltron is an amalgamated mess, and it's only fair we keep stirring the stew. This is a show that began when a US American studio vaguely requested a mecha show ("the one with the lion" lol), received the wrong show from the Japanese studio, then shrugged, ran with it, combined it with material from two other mecha shows, and campily reworked plot and worldbuilding points to align with American censorship standards. While having, like, three voice actors for 90% of the characters. And then when we branched off that, then branched off that branch, then branched off that first branch with another branch, we kept remixing the ideas of previous iterations together. Ideas made from ideas made from ideas, circling back down to previous ideas and mixing them with new ideas -- it's great.

Like, keep playing with the ideas, motherfuckers. Go wild. This is a world about a human team inhabiting a medieval-style castle riding sentient ancient robot lions that merge into a sword-wielding robot man to fight purple imperialistic space elves. There's a subplot where a magical space witch's cat gets in tangles with a mini mouse!Voltron and its mouse crew wearing little mouse helmets. The Voltron team has been chased by mall cops on a flying cow. It's also a franchise with decapitation, cannibalism, slavery, gladiator fights, the grimness of war, and some of the most heartfelt scenes you could imagine. You cannot mess Voltron up.

ROTFLHHHHH I was literally thinking, "Man, I would've preferred hearing more about the Voltron live action than the HTTYD live action," and here's more news on casting just now

[minamorsart]

@loturaweek2024 Day 2: Sci-Fi Fusion

Planet Altea is a desolate world used by the Imperium to harvest the rich quintessence scattered across its infinite deserts. Seventeen-year-old Lotor of Daibazaal, son of the Duke Zarkon and Lady Honerva, dreams of a paradise lost and a mysterious girl. But little does the young lord know that his visions will soon lead him to fulfilling a great and terrible destiny...

VLD x DUNE

[evi-anxiety]

Kallurance Headcanons

Someone asked for Kallurance headcanons, so ur wish shall be granted:

Lance and Allura get together first (much earlier than in the show), but after they save the universe and spend a few years on New Altea, Keith is slowly integrated into their relationship

Like at first Keith is visiting on BOM business, but Lance + Allura don't want him to stay at some random place so they invite him to their house

And then like over the next few years Keith is so integrated into their daily lives that Lance + Allura just assume all three r dating now

Lance, talking to someone else: "Yeah, so my boyfriend-"

Keith: "Who's your boyfriend?"

Lance: "...You are?"

Keith: "I though u were dating Allura."

Lance: "And you. Is this...Did we read it wrong?"

But AFTER they get together officially

They all borrow each others' clothes

Allura likes to carry one or both her boyfriends on her shoulders

They are all VERY competitive. You do not want them on a team together, they will win

Lance + Allura try to give Keith Altean marks, but they don't know how. Cue them randomly kissing him whenever they can.

Keith does end up getting Altean marks, but it's like completely out of nowhere, and Lance + Allura argue abt which one gave them to him

They like going on random planets as a date

Allura heard Lance call Keith "cowboy" ONE time, but now she calls him that almost every single day

*the three of them facing a mirror*

Lance: "I can't believe I'm looking at the most beautiful person in the world."

Keith and Allura look at each other.

Lance: "Me, of course."

Allura is now queen but both Keith and Lance still call her "princess" as a pet name

Their bed is probably huge lordddd, fitting Allurance, Kosmo, AND the mice!!???

I do take requests y'all.

[callmelyc]

Angsty post canon concept:

When Allura dies what if the Altean magic she used on Shiro and Lance weakens and that's how ppl find out Lance also died?

Both Lance and Shiro start with symptoms they can ignore and ones doctors brush aside. They get told it's fatigue, they get told it's after effects from fighting In the war like they had for all that time. Neither realize it all starts after Alluras death.

Then they end up with things unexplainable. Things like extreme full body tremors, sudden extreme chills and are icy cold to the touch no matter the temperature. Their bodies ache in the ways they had in their deaths but neither man admits it out loud too afraid of what that might mean so neither is aware they aren't alone is this bizarre and sudden turn of events.

It's not until Lance collapses and is rushed to the Garrison hospital that they discovered it something more.

His body deteriorating from the inside out seen visibly from their newest high tech scans. Rotting, closing down, slowing or lacking proper function like his body has given up. Like his body is referring backwards to lack of life but no one knows why.

It's almost like its frying itself from the inside out, it's path crawling closer and closer to his heart with every passing day like bolts of electricity pulsing more and more upward.

Shiro is the first to realize what it means once Lance is finally giving the symptoms they'd had to pry out of him. He realizes with dread that his fellow paladin has things that match up too close to his own.

He only realizes bc he's felt similar things, only his resemble his own death and he knows for a fact its thinfs in Excruciating pain, a pain he thought no one but himself would ever understand.

To get lance to admit what happened Shiro goes through the scans himself to prove his point. No one enjoys hearing Lances story, Allura hadn't even known she was capable of what she'd done to him So he's worse off than Shiro is and terrified of the idea of dying again this slowly

both get taken to an off planet hospital, one that could preserve their symptoms until the rest of their team and families could find a way to heal them

But without Alluras alchemy No one knew what to do.

First they try talking to the alteans on new altea but none have any knowledge of the alchemy allura had used for them

Then the team spreads out

Pidge uses her ranking in her field to gain any and all database information she can get her hands on

Hunk uses his connections To the Balmera and other species to attempt to find any information on healing abilities that might help

Keith is the most successful, the man he loves and his brother are dying and he wouldn't accept that one bit

He sends all the Blades willing to look for any possible Leads and anyone who might know anything about healing magic or alchemy

Keith is the one who comes across one of haggars old druids, one well versed in altean alchemy and one bitter at what had become of the craft

She had understood, to a degree, what Allura had done to Save both men

She had tied their life force to her own to ground them back to this plane of existence and now that she's no longer tied to one universe her connection has faded and so has theirs

"You must tie them to another life to keep them but this practice is taboo. If this next life dies they will with it."

Keith doesn't hesitate for a moment "just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

He ends up tying Lances life force to his own, Lance so sickly he didn't get a choice and Keith apologizes the entire way

He combs fingers through lances thinned hair hoping it brought any comfort to the man that had no energy to even stay awake anymore "you can be as angry as you want after this, as long as you survive I don't care anymore..."

Shiros husband does the same for Shiro

They know it's worked when their bodies stop dying and start to finally try to heal.

The damage so extensive they both spend months in newly crafted healing pods that do everything to try to reverse it.

Both come out whole, alive and maybe a little worse for wear than before All this took place.

But no one cares so long as they stay alive.

And, if when Keith tells lance what he'd done to save him, Keith earns a strict slap to the face for his recklessness that's followed by a gentle kiss.

Well, no one says a word.

[cecipg4]

Hiii I'm looking for a voltron fanfic I read a while ago but I don't know when it was published. The paladins are fighting in a planet where there's a monster that make than hallucinate, like a matrix kind of thing? And then Lance has to wake them one by one. I think Alura is 'imagining' she's is Altea with all her family and her people and they leave her there to come back later for her. I think had a happy ending. Please if anyone know what fic it is help me! I want to read it again! I read it before a new bookmark was a thing!

[initforthevldrewrite]

I finished introducing each of the paladins POVs!!

Gave each of them a sort of “name drop” line (because of the drama):

“Since before Takashi Shirogane could remember, he’d been enamored with the stars.”

“The sour stench of vomit burned Lance McClain’s nose as the flight simulation lit up in red.”

“Keith Kogane’s heart hammered like a drum as he crept into the Garrison’s quarantine tent.”

“Princess Allura, heir to the throne of the planet Altea, watched in horror from the bridge of the Castle of Lions as her homeland burned.”

“When Hunk Garret had been a child, he’d spent his lazy Saturday afternoons sprinting in circles in his parents’ backyard and pretending to fly his toy fighter jets through the brilliant blue sky overhead.”

“Pidge Gunderson wasn’t really Pidge Gunderson, but that was a story for another time.”

Introducing each of the characters perspectives and the tone of each of them has been so fun, I’m like shitting myself over here.

I’ve found myself spending most of my time writing from Lance’s perspective, so I hope everyone likes Lance because you’ll be hearing from him a lot!

[jiveyuncle]

"Fuck." Pidge hisses. "The ship's got an encryption software on it. Downloading any information off of it is going to scramble the information. It'll take days to decode."

"We can't wait days to go after him." Keith growls.

"I don't even know if we can wait for it to download." Hunk warns. The fire burns higher, inching its way up the body of the craft. "Pidge you gotta hurry."

"It's downloading! It won't go any faster!"

Keith slams the exit controls on his lion, and closes his helmet's face shield to switch over to using the suit's oxygen.

As the ramp extends out, Lance radios in. "Keith, what are you doing?" His tone is laced with nervous warning.

Keith pulls himself into the burning ship. "We don't need to download or decode if someone can just read the damn data, right?"

"While true, hypotheticals don't really help with our current situation." Pidge says with a bit of anxious exasperation. "I can't read Galran."

Keith finds Pidge in the cockpit, looking up at a small data screen. "I can."

"Keith, no." Lance breathes.

They don't have time for secrets and the hesitation that comes with keeping them. Fuck his history. Allura can strike him down so long as they get Shiro back.

Surprise! I drew/added one more artwork today! Here’s the last batch art from the fic.

Okay. So. The things I feel that the Humans-are-descended-from-Alteans plot would answer in canon:

+why Alteans look so Human,

+why a lion was hidden on Earth specifically,

+why Altea and Earth both have identifiable *lions* as fauna (headcanoning that lions were Altean pets/house guardians and that some were brought with them while fleeing),

+why Keith could sense the lion of Voltron in the desert,

+why all the locations around the lions glowed when they got near,

+why a crew of all humans were the chosen operators of Altean-made weaponry,

+why Lance got the Altean marks at the end of the show,

etc.

ALSO

Copy/pasting this rant I had about why I love it even more for this reincarnation AU:

Keith's current mom can absolutely still fit the canon version. It would make double sense that she didn't want the Galra to find the lion on Earth and why she left if the planet is crawling with [what she suspects is] the Galra's # 1 enemy (of which she's in love with) - to protect them. And with Keith being the child of a Galran and an Altean, it would make the storytelling symbolic side of my brain happy for him to be the reason they find the lions - the literal embodiment of unifying the two biggest enemies being the one to sense/wake the thing meant to bring peace? The person they thought started the whole Galra vs Altean divide being the evidence that they can in fact get along, and then living it himself? Uhg. Love. I wanted to write hints of it in the fic and even reveal it (I had several ideas of how and where), but it felt like too much to cram in. So, I'll probably just continue it with comic stips and doodles later.

Fic: Sure and Indelible on AO3:

[keithkog]

By the way I don’t want to live anywhere but Earth because Lance loves Earth. We’re staying right where we are. Sure, New Altea is cool and some planets are amazing- but there’s no place like home, I guess.

-Keith

[oceansssblue]

100 CELEBRATION — PROMPT 17. PRINCE&SERVANT AU

REX/F READER 💖💔

WARNINGS: servant/slavery themes, social gap, mentions of war, soulbonds, first crush, fantasy aspects.

Note: Here we have a really fluffy timid sweet one for a servant!rex and princess!femalereader !! It will start in their childhood and skip through time. Switches between 1st pov and 3rd pov. Hope you like it! Xx, Blue.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The citizens of Bahr were also known as "water spirits" because of their surprising affinity with water creatures. The humanoid species could survive both underwater and in land; which made Bahr's cities beautifully diverse. Some towns were completely built under the ocean; others were constructed besides lakes and rivers. The Outer Rim planet had joined the Republic Alliance not so long ago; also enthraced by the idea of bidirectional protection and the reputation of the GAR. The Kaminoans had created clones of a mandalorian warrior that they later trained for different purposes; sold in batches all around the Republic for both servitude and personal army.

For the birth of Bahr's princess –the first descendant of King Fraland and Queen Altea– a new order of clones was sent to Kamino; and the kaminoans produced new batches of CT's and CC's and trained them for their new life. Some would end up serving in the palace or any of the Crown's properties; others would add to Bahr's already impressive army.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You had grown up with all the commodities of the world; from endless food on the table to the prettiest of dresses. As the only princess of Bahr, your education had been impecable as well; closely monitored by the planet's best academics and literates. You had a small flock of servants personally encharged of you; from nannies that looked after you during the day or night, to other female bahrises who were tasked to help you dress or join you in any of your multiple hobbies. Not all servants in the palace were natives; but yours were.

You had always been curious about the others, the humans; the clones. They were young too –almost as young as yourself– and from a different species; and they were boys. It was inevitable to want to find more about them. However, both the Queen and your nanies had always scolded you whenever you had tried to interact with one; so you had eventually given up on being friends with them. You still curiously observed them in the distance.

It was only at eight years old when you had your first conversation with a clone. With three clones, to be precise. They were arguing about going out on an adventure; and that had instantly caught your attention. Life in palace was –though you knew you were incredibly lucky– often boring. The oportunity of going outside was too tempting to ignore.

You remained hidden behind one of the numerous statues that were placed on both sides of the corridors –old Kings and Queens of Bahr, your ancestors–; attention tunned in in the conversation between the three boys. They weren't speaking in your native language; but your teachers had already taught you a handful of others, mando'a being one of them.

"We're not going to be able to see them properly, Fives" one of the boys said, voice a mix of exasperation and resignation. "They only come up to the surface when two true soulmates are on their own there".

Your curiosity deepens; they're talking about the Lake of the Soulmates; were small water dragons live in harmony until a couple of soulmates call them. Only in pairs they will respond; only when genuine, sincere emotions came into play. It was a sacred tradition on Bahr; though some often used it as a proof of a partner's intentions or honesty. It was a beautiful idea, the fact that soulmates existed, that someone was made specifically for you; you had always dreamed of visiting it.

"Yeah, I know" the boy named Fives whispered. "But won't seing them even under the surface be worth it? Please, Echo. I'm so tired of being trapped in here".

Something softened in Echo's face; the boy glancing at the third clone of the group with reluctant acceptance. This last one had short blond hair; a trait you hadn't seen in the rest of his brothers. It was a beautiful contrast with the bronze of his skin.

"If we get caught we could be punished or even decomissioned" he wasn't fully convinced either, though it was clear he wanted to go as well. "I don't know if we should risk it".

This was the perfect chance for you to step in.

You left the secrecy of your hideout; quietly walking towards them.

"You wouldn't be if you kindly allowed me to join you".

The three clones showed various levels of surprise and fear; jumping at the unexpected sound of your voice. Their eyes widenned.

"P-princess!" Fives stuttered, back in your native language.

Echo and the clone with the blond hair straightened inmediately.

"I desire to visit the Soulmate Lake as well" you continued, undisturbed. "I've always felt curious about them. If you allow me to tag along, and the guards find us, you may even tell them I asked you to follow me there; since I wasn't keen on going on my own. Do we have an agreement?"

Fives grinned; the other two looked unsure. Upon the first's incesant pleadings, they finally gave in, nodding in silence. The blond one turned towards you, speaking to you with a timid politeness.

"Your majesty, you may want to change to a less delicate shoe choice" he pointed out, carefully, and your eyes travelled down to your cristal sparkling sandals.

"Oh!" You blushed softly. "You are right, of course. I'll retire and switch to a more comfortable pair. I will see the three of you in the North Door in ten".

You gave them a firm nod and walked away. You were going to see the water dragons for the first time ever.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

At first, Fives, Echo and Rex were incredibly wary and tense around the princess. They had grown up learning about her; about how important she was and the responsabilities she was destined to carry. They were taught how to behave around royals; how they were not the same. It was shocking, the fact that she had even talked to them. The way she phrased things was a bit unusual, and perhaps so were some of her gestures and manerisms; but in all honestly, for a princess, she looked pretty normal.

The small trip to the Lake of the Soulmates was filled with Fives animated story-telling; Rex and Echo having long learnt how to filter him out, while the princess looked almost engrossed in his tale. All words extinguished when they finally arrived, though; the beauty of the scene that powerfull. The water looked almost like a mirror of the sky above; the trees painted in vibrant greens and oranges. There was a sort of magical peace that could almost be breathed in.

"Woah" Fives looked and wandered around almost in a trance.

Echo grabbed his shoulder and tugged him back before his brother could accidentally dip a feet on the lake's water.

The three clones and the princess made their way to the edge of it and kneeled on the grass, carefully pushing their bodies forward to inspect it; trying to get a peak of the creatures swimming beneath. But the creatures stayed hidden –as Echo had predicted–; and soon the adrenaline and excitement of the adventure extinguished.

Rex discovered himself observing the princess instead. Her hair was pinned up in an intricate updo; and a small sparkly tiara was perfectly positioned on top of her head. She had what looked like diamond earings too; and she was wearing a –expensive, he was sure– violet dress with some more accesories around her wrists and neck. Under all of that, Rex noticed her big expressive eyes and the warmth of her smile. He had always thought royalty as cold and distant –no matter how well they governed–; but perhaps he had been wrong all along. The princess chuckled at something Fives said; and Rex's eyes couldn't stop staring at her.

A splash and a gasp finally called his attention; wonder and excitement shining again in all of their faces. There was a water dragon close to the surface; it was a blurred mix of blues, cyan on it's head and turning progressively darker towards the blue indigo of the tail. The creature seemed to be curious about them as well; as it swam close to the four kids for a few minutes before dissapearing into the depths of the lake again.

They all glanced at each other in shock before chuckling and smiling happily. They stayed for what felt like another hour there, with mainly Fives and Echo bickering and Rex and the princess quietly observing. It was peaceful; freeing. Rex tenderly saved the memory in his mind.

The grins were still painted on their faces with their return to the palace.

"I had a wonderful time" the princess aknowledged them before they had to part ways. "Thank you for your company".

Fives grinned, showing a silly thumbs up.

"Yeah, cool shit, princess".

Echo rolled his eyes at his brother's choice of words and lack of proper decorum; and smacked the back of his head.

Fives shot a glance at him, pouting and catching up on Echo's silent complaint inmediately.

"Hey! I said princess!"

Luckily for all of them, the royal only watched them in amusement.

"We enjoyed your company as well, your majesty" Rex tried to spare them, nodding politely, golden brown eyes making contact with the princess's. "We wish you a good rest of your evening".

She smiled genuineningly; then courtsied in a last goodbye, walking away timidly, a small happy skip to her step.

Fives and Echo bickered at his back. Rex only wished their escapade to remain a secret –for their safety–; and to have shown the princess –she'd be their queen, someday– that clones weren't that bad.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Weeks pass after that evening with the clone boys; but thoughts about them haven't yet left your mind. You don't have much contact with people your age –or any at all, for that fact–; and you somehow find yourself yearning for more. You had enjoyed the afternoon with them; void of responsabilities and the pressure of being a princess. A royal. There was no-one to watch you with a critic at the tip of their tongue; no one to tell you how to talk or move, to punish you for things that weren't considered lady like. The memory of that tiny bit of freedom, of life, had stayed roaming around in your mind.

You had carefully asked around; tried to find more information about them. They worked in the kitchens; and though there were a few complaints about them being a bit of trouble, you generally only heard good things about the three clones. They were only two years –one, in Rex's case– younger than you; though a maid had –tried to– explain to you that with the clone's accelerated aging they'd look progressively older very soon.

Temptatively, you had tried to interact with them in the few months that followed the first escapade. They reacted exactly the same way as the first time; first with cautious wariness, and then slowly easing into a quiet, gentle friendship. Fives was the main source of trouble; Echo being the one to often reel him in and cut his crazyness short. He still joined him in few ocassions, though, and then it was Rex's turn to be the voice of reason. He was not boring by any chance –in fact, you find him very intriguing–; he just seemed more mature. Rex was observant, and surprisingly firm for someone as young as him; but he knew how to relax too. You felt warm each time you caught sight of his gentle smile.

You're on a quest to personally ask the palace's main cook to bake your favorite pie when you caught sight of them again; though not in a pleasant situation. Fives, Echo and Rex are all standing up in front of a –very obviously– angry chef; heads lowered down in a sign of repentance while the man screams inches away of their face. A quick glance around is enough to know what this is all about. The kitchen is a mess; almost as if there had been a fight –or an explosion– of flour all around. You understand the need to reprimand them if this has been the case; but the way the cook is spitting ill-words so close to their faces rubs you the wrong way.

"Useless clones, genetically engineered for what? You can't even behave in a kitchen! It's a relief you can't roam around through Bahr!"

Different degrees of hurt and anger crosses the boys faces. It grows like a flame inside of you as well.

"We understand your point, sir" Rex grits out, eyes still on the floor but posture firm. "It won't happen again".

"Of course it won't!" The cook suddenly invades his personal space and takes a violent hold of his face, nails digging into the skin of both cheeks to obligue Rex to look at him. "Because if you do, i'll make sure you're all sent back to Kamino and never see a ray of sunglight ever again!"

Something inside of you fiercely wakes up and shakes. A wave of ire and an overwhelming need to protect spreads through your veins; and you take a step into the kitchen and clear your throat, eyes settling on the cook in a heated stare.

"Princess!" The man exclaims, releasing the boy's face and taking a step back in utter surprise.

The three clones inmediately look at you. You want to comfort them, but it is a priority to get them away from this man first.

"Let this be the last time you dare to treat anyone this way" your voice holds an authority that doesn't really come from being a royal, but of a fierce heart that won't let any other option exist. "You will request a transfer to any other of the Crown's properties and leave inmediately".

The man is so shocked he almost sputters in his place.

"B-but princess..." his eyes flicker over your smaller form in a desperate way to find something to convince you with. "I'm the only one who knows how to bake your favorite Jhogan pie!"

Your expresion turns to one of disgust. The fact that this man...

"My favorite dessert can't be more irrelevant as opposed to the safety of other's lifes. I have given you the option to continue working elsewhere as a courtsey for all the years you've been working for us; but if you insist, I can make sure you won't find a job anywhere in Bahr".

The clear warning is enough to shut all of the cook's complaints down; and he turns around to send a hatefull glance to the three clones as if they have been the ones to dig his way out.

"Leave" you almost hiss then, years of trained patience coming to an end.

The man nods tersely, huffs, and walks away.

You breathe a sigh of relief when you're left alone in the kitchen with the other three boys. Their posture relax too; inmediately aproaching each other and mutually making sure they are all safe and good. The need extends to you.

"Are you alright?" You ask them, slowly aproaching them.

Fives and Echo look at you. Rex, for some reason, keeps staring at the floor.

"Yeah" Echo eventually answers. "Thank you for the save, princess. It was a kind gesture of you".

To your surprise, Fives steps forward and envelops you in a big, sudden hug.

"It was awesome! Did you see his face?" He laughs, and you chuckle as he releases you and takes a step back.

"It looked like his head was going to explode from holding all his anger back" you confirm with a tiny smile.

Your eyes travel back to Rex; who is still painfully silent, expresion closed off as if he were thinking of something deeply emotional and delicate.

"Hey" you carefully squeeze his shoulder and he breaks off of his trance, golden eyes locking on yours. "Are you okay?"

His eyes flicker over your face. He nods without saying a thing.

Your hand moves up and your fingertips carefully graze the skin of his redenned cheek. They won't be hurt like that ever again.

"You should get that checked by the doctor" you advise gently, lowering your traitorous hand to it's rightfull place. "Some marks have managed to break the skin and they might scar if you don't tend to them".

His golden eyes continue staring at you; creating a mess of contradicting and confusing emotions and thoughts you're too young to descipher yet.

"I will" Rex finally says.

When you leave the kitchen two minutes later, you murmur a soft and quiet "keep an eye on him" to Fives. The clone nods and grins.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

It has been a long day for Rex and his brothers. Their working conditions are vastly different from those of two years ago; from when the princess had faced off the main palace cook and sent the monster away. When she had protected them. The memory is still vivid and clear in Rex's memory. She had been so small, so young; and yet her voice had held such a fierce authority. She clearly cared for them; and in a world where clones –where he– meant nothing, that had touched Rex's heart.

Not having a dickhead for a boss doesn't make the hours and hours of baking any less demanding, though; and Rex can feel the ache on his muscles begging for a rest. He's on his way to the servant's floor when he hears music floating down the stairs; it's such a beautiful melody that the curious clone is already following it with quiet steps. He recognises the sound of the clarinas; small air instruments native from Bahr. But there's someone singing as well; and Rex's instincts are pushing him towards it, for some misterious reason he has no time –or desire– to analise.

He comes to a stop in front of the music salon; and takes a quiet peak inside to scan the room. At first, his eyes widen in surprise; then, he's left staring enthraced, hipnotized. He didn't know she could sing like that. The princess's voice is sweet and delicate; her range gently dancing over the notes in a peaceful melody. The song has a hint of melancholy; like a bird who sees the beauty of the outside world and feels awed and warmed by it, but can't quite hold enough strength on his wings to fly in it.

Rex golden eyes are absort on her face for the few minutes he stays listening; until a maid passing by the corridor softly reprimands him and he flushes in silence, straigthening back up guiltily.

"Don't just stand there all day, young boy. Go on" the woman tuts with a knowing smile on her face, and Rex fights down his blush and walks away.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

When you almost run into Rex in one of your late afternoon walks through the gardens, you can't help but gasp and stare at him in surprise. And not just because of the unexpected, clumsy encounter; but because of how different he looks. His growth has sprinted in this last four years. While you're looking your age –fourteen, now–, Rex –his brothers too– appear to be seventeen or so; the physical signs and changes of their teenage years dissapearing in a blink and quickly transitioning into his current appearence. He's tall, really tall now; slightly towering above you when you had once been of the same height. His facial features have changed too; shaped into firm, sharp lines. Gone is the kid Rex once was; he's certainly turning into a young man.

"Your majesty" he gives you a small courtsey and you smile at him with warmth. No matter how many little interactions you've both had over the years, Rex has never dropped certain formalities around you. It's endearing, really. "Enjoying a bit of fresh air before dinner is served?"

You nod without dropping your smile.

"Yes, indeed. The gardens are beautiful this time of the year, and a break from the noise of the palace is always welcomed" you pause and study him briefly. "Would you like to join me?"

Surprise fills his expresion; an sort of timid hesitance following.

"If you're sure, princess. I wouldn't want to disturb your moment of peace...".

You chuckle and tilt your head in a carefree grin.

"I wouldn't have offered if I found your presence disturbing, Rex" you tease him in good humour, gently linking your hand around his arm and tugging forward carefully. "It will be a short stroll, don't worry".

He doesn't say a thing. His golden eyes travel down to your hand anchored on his –surprisingly defined– bycep; then back to your face. It almost looks like he's thinking what the kriff you're doing with him. Ah, you suppose this tiptoes the line of being a royal, taking a walk with a –male– servant; but you can't help yourself. You enjoy his presence; always have, and right now a relaxing stroll between friends sounds nice.

Trying not to dwell on the fact that your bodies are touching –and the tingling sensation derived from it– you fill the –perhaps initially akward– silence with curiosities and stories about the plants you pass by; wether it's just their medical use or a particularity of a flower, or some other tradition that is rumoured in Bahr. He listens attentively, quietly; only intervening here and there. It's only after a while when you grow self-conscious; realising you're perhaps talking a bit too much.

"Forgive me" you smile guiltily, hand dropping from where you had been pointing at the petals of yet another flower. "You probably don't find all of this rants about flora interesting. You might not even like flowers for all I know..."

To your honest surprise, Rex carefully tugs said hand forward and holds it in his, gently squeezing.

"I do" he replies calmly, soothing your worries, voice deeper than it had been just a year ago. He glances at the green jade flowers and back at you. "It's the colour of your eyes, princess".

It's such an unexpected comment –and more so coming from him– that you can't control the flustered blush that inmediatelly spreads through your cheeks and down your neck. You shyly tuck a strand of hair behind your ear with your other hand; warmth spreading from where you hold him with the other one –as if some sort of energy were flowing between the two of you–.

Rex doesn't retract his comment; temptitavely caressing the dorso of your hand with his thumb, and a peacefull, almost pensive expresion on his face. You fall equally enthraced by him; gaze lost in the tenderness of his warm, golden eyes, on this new feeling sparkling between the two of you.

You had just started to see boys in another way; and Rex... Rex is beautiful. The sunset does wonders on his bronze skin, brings the gold out of his gentle brown eyes, he is undeniably handsome and his physicall appearence has nothing to envy the...

"Princess! Your majesty!" the urgent voice of your maid breaks the moment rather abruptly, tearing you out of your trance cruelly. "The King and Queen have been waiting for you in the Grand Comedor for almost ten minutes now!"

The woman continues to rant from far away, and you turn to look back at Rex with an amused chuckle –cheeks still redenned and already missing the warmth of his hand in yours–.

"I shall better go before they send a flock of angry maids to find me" you joke, still a hint of shyness on your voice and face.

Rex nods and takes a polite step back. You ignore how much your heart complains about that.

"Of course" he agrees, eyes still fixed on yours. "Have a good night, princess".

Your smile is as soft as melting butter.

"You as well, Rex".

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The next day, upon numerous innapropiate whispers of maids and servants all around the palace that reaches the rulers ears, three clones are sent away to be trained in Bahrs army. When a week later the princess's personal maids finally ask the royal sucessor the reason for her late melancholy, she brushes it aside and conjures an empty smile. She's a bird; but she has no wings.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Seven years later, life has not changed much. At least for you. At 21, you have more responsabilities as the Crown's succesor, and take a participant role in Bahr's important decisions; but that aside, life around you moves like it always has. Slow and boring; though comfortable and coveted. Diplomatic travels have become part of your favorite rutine At least that way you're able to explore Bahr's diverse cities, though you're not completely free to roam around as you'd like, but tied to long dinners and debates.

Your father has subtly questioned you about wether if you feel connected to any of Bahr's important houses heirs. Your answer has always been short and clipped. It's not that you hate all of them; some are not pretentious and fairly good company –hadsome, even–, but none make your heart skip a bit. You'll settle for someone eventually; but for now, you'll still hold onto the hope that someone who can will appear.

You're lost in thoughts when the sound of someone arriving at the Lake of the Soulmates –you had taken to visit it sort of regularly lately– pulls you out of your mind. You glance back at the new comer; a gasp inmediately abandoning your lips, face shifting with shock and surprise.

"R-rex?"

You stand up from the blanket you've placed on the grass, carefully making your way towards him. He looks just as shocked; stunned. It has been seven years since you last saw each other. He's so... He's a man, now. His eyes, though... His golden eyes hold the same gentleness.

"Princess..." he takes two slow steps towards you as well –until you're both standing in front of each other, your chin tilting up so you can see his face–. "Long time no see".

You shoot him a fond smile.

"Yes" your eyes flicker over every inch of his face. His brow is more pronounced, his jaw sharper. His lips... pouty. "You've changed".

Age has done nothing but make him look more atractive. The white and blue armour he's currently wearing –clinging to his strong muscles– only make the picture prettier.

"You as well, princess. You look..." he stops himself, cheeks tinged in red.

You can feel your heart trying to beat it's way out of your chest. You're nervous, but excited; you encourage him to finish the sentence with bright eyes and a tempting smile.

"I look?"

At first, Rex seems to hesitate; then, the soldier squares his shoulders and fixes his eyes on yours.

"You look more beautiful than ever, princess".

He tells you this tenderly but firmly; like there's no option to disagree, like it's an universal truth. The quiet passion swirling in his golden eyes makes your heart clench; tugging the corner of your lips into a radiant smile.

You close the small distance between each other with another tiny step; your body almost grazing his.

Years and years of lessons on politeness and decency, on how a royal should behave, sprints through your mind; though they are quickly shut down in favor of the fire that burns bright in your heart. Rex... Rex makes your heart skip a bit. Perhaps he always has –even when in your young age you couldn't see it as clearly as now–.

"You do too, Rex" you whisper fervently, looking up at him. "Beautiful".

Rex releases a deep breath; almost as if he had been afraid of you reacting badly to his compliment. He closes the eyes for a few seconds; as if saving the moment in his memory.

You gather your courage and swallow your own insecurities down; temptitavely caressing his hand with the very tip of your fingers –a sort of cautious invitation to do more about it–.

Rex opens his eyes and glances at you in surprise.

"Is this... okay?" you ask him timidly, hand almost trembling with your nervousness.

Rex looks to be lost in your eyes; he barely reacts, not moving a single inch.

"Y-yes, yes. If you want to, princess..."

The carefull caress turns into proper holding hands. You smile at how right such a simple thing feels.

"Will you ever call me by my name?" You tease him in good humour, a little amused chuckle escaping your lips.

Rex's eyes travel around as if you have put him in a four way crossroad.

"I shouldn't..."

Perhaps years and years of lessons on how not to behave around and with royals are flickering through his mind too.

The fire inside of you burns stronger. You end the distance between your bodies, softly anchoring yourself to him and gently wrapping your hands around his shoulders. He freezes, eyes fixed on your face, now so close to his.

"But I want you too" you reply, fervently.

Rex swallows; and you can almost feel his throat move.

"It might take some time for me to get used to it. But I can try... meshla".

You release all your tension and nervousness with a long, happy sigh; closing your eyes and pressing your forehead against his plated chest, breathing the warmth feeling he provoques in you in. Rex hands tentatively takes place in your back and caresses you gently. His tension deflates as well in the tender embrace.

Splashing water sounds force you to break apart; you both glance at the lake, but upon finding everything as usual, quickly return to search into each other's gaze. You already miss his arms around you –yours around him–; though there's still minimum space between you.

"How have you been all this time, Rex?" You ask him fondly. "You've been working for the army, have you not?"

"Just got promoted to Captain, yes" he confirms, and your eyes fly down to quickly study the pauldron on his shoulder and his blue kama, armour touches and upgrades you know well. "It has been..."

He hesitates, and you encourage him to continue with a soft smile.

"Go on. You can be frank with me".

Rex sighs and confesses.

"It's better than staying in the palace all day, every day. It makes me feel more usefull, valuable. I'm protecting people. Doing good things" he takes a breath in and quietly admits, a troubled expresion on his face. "It's not an easy task, though. I've seen... Men and woman die, lost friends. I never realised just how many brothers I had in Bahr until I started to feel like I was losing them".

His words and emotions are so honest and raw it brings tears to your eyes; though you don't allow a single one to fall.

You hold his hands in yours.

"I'm sorry, Rex. That Fives, Echo and you all felt trapped in the palace and then forced to walk away. Every native servant has decided to be there; but you clones never had the oportunity to choose. I'm sorry you've lost family as well. I hope one day you'd be able to forgive me, Rex..."

He shows you a fond smile and gentle squeezes your hand with one hand; the other coming up to cup your face.

"It's not like you had any say in our creation, meshla, or what we came to be. You were just a child as well. And honestly, the King treats us much better than other clones in other parts of the galaxy. I'm happy with where I am now; Fives and Echo as well".

"How are they, Echo and Fives?" You curiously ask him, wanting to know about the other two boys –now men– as well.

Rex smile can only be defined as proud.

"They're doing well. Both got promoted to ARC's at the same time, which is why we're all in the Capital now. There's going to be a small ceremony in the palace for all new ARC's, Commanders and Captains".

You blink in surprise.

"Oh, I wasn't aware of this".

Rex shrugs.

"I don't believe the royal family attends this" he explains "just some other high ranks from the army and the war council. It's a small thing".

You tilt up your chin and make up a quick decision.

"It's a big thing for you. I'll be there"

"You don't have to, prin... meshla..."

You smile and squeeze his hand.

"I know. I'll still try".

Rex nods, innerly touched and gratefull; and you're both left in silence for a few seconds, studying each other's hands and eyes.

"I thought of doing this a lot when we were kids" you confess, voice quiet.

Rex shoots you a surprised look.

"Holding hands?" He asks, a timid expresion on his face too.

"Among other things" you admit with a blush.

Rex is shocked by your confession; but his eyes only fill with tenderness and warmth.

"Why didn't you?"

You shrug.

"I was reprimanded a lot, told to not interact with the three of you. I was also afraid of you only accepting because you'd be afraid to say no and... And I was shy and just a child. I didn't truly understand what I was feeling and what to do about it" you glance to the say and chuckle, cheeks painted in an embarassed red. "You were my first boy crush".

Rex can't believe at first the words that are coming out of your mouth. But he sees the honesty in your eyes, the vulnerability, the tenderness and the desire; and he knows it's the beautiful truth.

He smiles and caresses your cheek with his thumb. He decides to confess as well.

"I would have accepted anything from you, princess, and not out of obligation".

Warmth spreads inside of you; this time the title sounding more of a sweet, personal pet name on his lips than a polite status reference.

Rex decides to risk it all. His other hand also travels up to cup your face in his palms; softly tilting it up towards him so he can study and caress every inch of your skin with his golden eyes.

"And now, meshla? Now that we aren't kids?"

"I..." you want him. You love him. He's the one. "I want the same things".

Rex's relieved breath flickers over your face; and barely a second later, he dips down to catch your lips in a tender, heartfelt kiss. You make a small, pleased sound in your throat and surrender to him; body melting in his embrace and kissing him back with the same softness and hunger, both mixed into perfect bliss.

When you're forced to breathe, Rex rests his forehead against you in what you know is a Keldabe kiss; taking each other in.

"I've told myself a million times iver the years that this couldn't be. That you were just a dream, an illusion I would never reach".

Your heart aches. Perhaps true, honest love is just like that; so raw and powerfull it heals as much as it aches.

You nuzzle your nose against his and answer him softly.

"I know there's responsabilities to both and that we'll face more than one public judgement. We will need to be carefull. But I've always felt curious about you, Rex. We're both older now. Perhaps things won't work out, and that's okay; but I feel very strongly towards you and I'd like to have the chance to see where this goes now".

Rex smiles and pecks your lips again. Oh, you'll soon grow addicted to it.

"Like I said, princess, I'll take whatever you're willing to give" he grins, and you're so happy you can't help but laugh against his lips.

There's a louder splash coming from the water again; and this time, a quick, initially uninterested glance turns to be an overwhelming shock. You both watch, stunned, how two blue water dragons repetitively jump up and down the surface of the lake, clearly playing with each other and having fun, oblivious to the two of you.

You stare at Rex in shock.

"Are those... Did we... Are we..." you can't seem to form the words, too overwhelmed and nervous about the possible implications of this.

Rex stares back at the small creatures.

"If we were... We should be able to call them towards us, right?" He cautiously asks.

You nod, heart pounding. The two water dragons stop playing and hover over the surface of the lake, as if suddenly realising they were being watched and looking back at you curiously.

You take a deep, centering breath and close your eyes; focusing on trying to conect with any of them. To tug at some sort of invisible connection.

You gasp at the feeling of something wet and slippery pressing against the skin of your neck; opening your eyes in wonder, staring at the almost magical female water dragon that is nuzzling against you and chirping happily.

"T-try it" you tell Rex, hands shaking to caress the legendary creature, the animal playfully nipping at your fingertips.

Rex imitates you; closing his eyes and trying to find his own connection with the other water dragon. He frowns, and nothing happens at first; but then, the creature –darker in colour but with also more white streaks in it's tail– shyly aproaches him and spins around his forearm, then moving to hover in front of him.

Rex looks at his dragon in awe and then turns towards you.

"We're soulmates" he voices, love and wonder shining in his golden eyes.

You smile and close the distance to kiss him.

"I guess that explains why I have always felt drawn to you. Yes, we are".

Rex swallows your happy chuckles and you smile against his lips. The two water dragons play around your entwinned shape, chirping happily.

THE END.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Author note:

I love Rex so much godddddd...

Ps. With this one we only have one more prompt left for the 100blueceleb. It's a short story of a demon!echo / angel!ofc ; I have already planned it through and am in the process of writing it. It's gonna be a blast, mark my words! I'm so excited to share it with y'all. Stay tunned!

Xx, Blue.

Check out the 100blueceleb masterlist:

Check out my general masterlist:

[justaz]

lance who always wanted to be a fighter pilot would NEVER be a farmer and we can throw hands if you disagree. anyways au time. allurance happens or doesn’t happen doesn’t matter but they aren’t together now. allura is queen of new altea with her advisor coran and close “friend” romelle. shiro is retired on earth w his husband adam. pidge also stays on earth and works with her parents on advancing earth’s technology. when they make breakthroughs, they relay it to matt when he pops by earth and then he takes it up into space to the rebellion who spreads it to planets that are behind on the galactic scale. hunk travels planet to planet with his moms and they connects all these different cultures and essentially does what he does in canon.

keith sort of takes over the blade and (since the war is over) turns it from a hidden rebellion group to a public aid and relief organization. they go planet to planet and help rebuild the worlds as much as they can. lance is on earth with his family but is Torn. he longed to be a fighter pilot since he was a kid, but being in space was almost unbearable bc of how bad he wanted to come home. when keith is visiting earth and talking about his travels to different planets, theres this flash of envy within lance and he comments about it. bada bing bada boom lance is joining keith into space once he leaves (he really has no idea how he gets into these things). he tells his family who are hesitant but ultimately supportive.

lance joins keith with the blade and finds himself greatly enjoying his time back up in space. he isn’t sure why until he mentions that he forgot something back of earth and keith asks if he wants to go back and grab it. lance has a choice now. he can go home if he wished and he can go up in space if he asked. when they were all kidnapped by the blue lion and jumped thru a wormhole, lance hadn’t been expecting staying up in space, away from his family, for years. the last bit of unease in lance settles and he thoroughly enjoys his time with the blade. by the time he’s set to go home, he barely even noticed time passing but he’s glad to be back.

he happens to return right as summer kicks off and he joins his family down in varadero. by the time august rolls around, he’s growing antsy again and staring up at the night sky with longing. his parents join him one night and encourage him to chase his dreams, to make younger him proud. lance says he doesn’t want to be away from his family like last time. they reassure him he won’t and point out how he could come home whenever he wished.

lance now spends end of august to beginning of june in space with keith helping planets, then june to august with his family on earth. its a good balance and makes everyone quite happy. eventually, keith starts to spend a bit more time on earth. he stops by toward the end of july and happens to catch lance’s birthday but that’s definitely purely a coincidence. keith spends a week in the states with shiro and adam then a couple of days with pidge and her family before going back down to cuba to spend the rest of august with lance before they fly back out.

rachel is the first to notice when lance and keith begin to share a bed when he stays. his mother catches them wrestling out in the water and chuckles to herself. veronica watches their hands linger against one another while doing the dishes after a family dinner that keith had attended.

its not long before keith’s time on earth extends until he’s practically following lance’s schedule. it’s not a surprise to anyone when marco walks in on lance and keith making out. he accepts responsibility as he did not knock before entering. his father had instructed them all to do so. thats on him.

[californiannostalgia]

Regarding the Blue Lion (More Lion Meta)

It's never explicitly stated what the requirement is to pilot the Blue Lion. But I have my own theory about the lions, based on how much we've seen of the six paladins.

Green and Yellow are pretty straightforward. Green is the keen mind, the flexible strategist, the unflinching heart. Green will keep you on task without losing sight of the consequences.

Yellow is the voice of caution and empathetic connections. Yellow will usually be the first to warn the team away from a threat, and the first to befriend a local. Yellow is often the best diplomat.

Black and Red are a balancing act. Black paladins have a tremendous force of will, and they refuse to give up. But Black can't be without the team, and the team can't be without Black. Black is the indestructible core of Voltron. No matter how fucked up they get, they will not die.

Red is the action-oriented defender. Red is responsible for counterbalancing Black (Alfor & Zarkon, Keith & Shiro, Lance & Keith). If Black is level-headed, Red will be the risk-taker. If Black is impulsive, Red will be the voice of reason. If Black turns dangerous, it's Red's job to take them down.

So what does that make Blue? Blue isn't as fast as Red or Green. Nor does Blue have the heavy armor like Yellow, or the sheer power of Black. So what makes Blue unique?

Blue chooses the hero with a sense of inadequacy. The Blue paladin is the one who thought they'd never get a chance to fly, or fight, but who really wanted to. Blue is the first chance, the first believer.

Blue is also the last goodbye.

Blue isn't built to take hits and survive them, which is ironic because the Blue paladin's way of defense is through life-threatening sacrifice. No matter how many risks Black or Red take, they don't come so close to death as Blue does.

I think Blue takes the loneliest, the most homesick as paladins. For Black, Red, and Green, their anchor is the people they love, and that's all they need. For Yellow, every planet they touch down on has their own beauty. But Blue preserves the memory of a home planet. Blue is the water-logged origin of life (Earth and Altea, both blue).

The Blue Lion picks the unlikely hero who will, one day, have to leave it. Blue is literally the beginning and end of Voltron. But really, that's just how the cycle of water works. Endings, beginnings--this will not be the last story told.

Blue is home.